The Bearcats have now wrapped up week one of fall camp at Higher Ground Retreat Center, where the Bearcats will be spending the next two weeks for their annual trip before the season. The Bearcats are coming off an historical season where they became the first “Group of 5” team to reach the College Football Playoff, as well as seeing nine members selected in the NFL Draft this past April, but their is currently 11 Bearcats from a season ago that are taking part in NFL Training Camps’ as Joel Dublanko just signed with the Seattle Seahawks and Michael Young, Jr. is down camping with the Indianapolis Colts.
The main storyline coming into the season was who will be replacing Desmond Ridder, will it be Ben Bryant, or Evan Prater stepping in behind a veteran offensive line that retained all five starters from a season ago. Bryant, who started his career at Cincinnati, before transferring to Eastern Michigan for the 2021 season after Desmond Ridder won out the quarterback battle in camp in 2020 and never looked back during his Bearcat career. However, thats just not the one position group looking to battle for starting spots as the Bearcats are also looking to replace All-American’s Coby Bryant and Ahmad ‘Sauce” Gardner on the back end of that “Blackcat” defense.
Bryant and Prater are trying to fill some big shoes after the career Desmond Ridder had wearing the red and black. As the first week of camp has wrapped up, it’s clear we may not know who will be under center starting for the Bearcats until September 3rd, where the Bearcats travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on Arkansas as they kick off the 2022 season.
Breaking down the QB battle between Evan Prater and Ben Bryant
Bryant is coming off a season where he threw for 3,121 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 68.4% of his passes during his lone season at Eastern Michigan. He is a more pocket passer quarterback and having that connection with guys like Tre Tucker, Tyler Scott and Jadon Thompson, who had caught passes from Bryant, during his first stop at Cincinnati is something that can be very special. We spoke to Bryant about the quarterback battle with Evan Prater as the two continue to battle it out for that starting spot.
“I think my whole career I’ve always been in a competition. I’m just so used to competing and I think that’s made me a lot better in return. I’m thankful for that and wouldn’t want it any other way. Every day I have to come out put my best foot forward, limit the mistakes and turnovers, continue to make the right reads, just continue to get better every day,” said Bryant.
Bryant and former quarterback Desmond Ridder where once former roommates at Cincinnati, and still to this day remain great friends, Bryant was able to talk about what advice he was able to get from Ridder as he transitions to the NFL.
“Des and I are always talking, we are always bouncing ideas off of each other when I was here, even now, we are talking mechanics, different things that he is learning. I am very grateful I was able to compete against him, I’m still really great friends with him, and it makes each other better.”
Redshirt sophomore Evan Prater, the former four star recruit and Cincinnati native also spoke on the quarterback battle and how it has gone throughout camp so far. Prater a member of the 2020 recruiting class was the biggest recruit for the Bearcats in his class after choosing to become a Hometown Hero, after having nearly 25 offers out of high school including schools like Purdue, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Miami(FL), Louisville and more.
“I think just staying locked in, coming out every day, trying to prove too everybody that both of us (Bryant and Prater) can be that guy. Thats what we are trying to do, we are trying to come out everyday, work to be the best versions of ourselves. Just being consistent, and stacking the days is what we have to do.”
The Bearcats have added some big-time playmakers to the offense after losing guys like Alec Pierce, Michael Young Jr, on the outside, and losing a guy like Jerome Ford from a season ago. Then this offseason they bring in a guy like Nick Mardner who is every bit of his 6 foot-6 frame, after seeing him in spring and throughout the first week of fall camp, you can easily see why he was nominated to the Biletnikoff preseason watch list. Mardner is going to be a huge red zone target for the Bearcats, but he also brings tremendous speed and the ability to create separation.
